FORMER SAI DEVOTEE 'DIVYYA' AND HER CLOSE INSIDE KNOWLEDGE OF SAI BABA'S ELDER SISTER

Eileen Weed (known as 'Divya') together with Venkamma, Sathya Sai Baba's elder sister, in whose home she lived for long periods until Venkamma's death. Eileen also knew Parvatamma very well, also a sister of Sai Baba

Eileen Weed, known to Sai devotees as Divya lived at Sai Baba ashrams from the age of 18 (from 1984 to 1993 and again – even though her parents were then fully disaffected, from 2001-2005). Before long she could converse in Telugu and continued to study it until she could translate Sai Baba discourses (which she did for a group of foreign secondary translators). She continued to be a devotee until 2005, when she left India for the U.S.A. In 2012, Divya posted her diary-type letters from that period as a record of her experiences recorded then, apparently without altering anything (though she became disaffected around 2005). These letters are a valuable testimony on how very devoted believers thought and behaved in accepting the extremity of the Sai Baba doctrines, since she did not gloss over difficulties and problems, though she saw the whole as divinely glossed nonetheless.
She is the daughter of William and Teresa Weed of Walnut Creek (San Francisco area). Her parents made an early Sai Baba exposé site revealing Sai baba's sexual abuses and much more in 2000 at snowcrest.net, still on-line (www.snowcrest.net/sunrise/links.htm).

Eileen lived in the Sathya Sai Baba ashrams and was very close to Sai Baba’s sister Venkamma and other of his female relatives for many years during the period of her most unquestioning devotion between 1984 and 1989. Her letters provide most telling documentation of a devotee’s indoctrinated mind set and of events observed at the ashrams (mostly suppressed rigorously by Sai Baba's staff or 'authorities'), as will be obvious to all who have liberated themselves from the belief system and cult.

In replying to an enthusiastic devotee (see scan on the right) who expressed the kind of view many others held about Eileen, she stated:-
"At the conclusion of the Letters from India, I wrote a postscript explanation. It is the last chapter of the “Letters from Shanti Ashram”. Here is the link:
http://www.wattpad.com/7425800-letters-from-shanti-ashram-india-69-conclusionI translated his discourses for years and they were so filled with inconsistencies, why would “God” do that? The last straw was when someone I personally knew confirmed direct knowledge that the abuse of young boys by Sai Baba, was true. The person is still a devotee, retaining faith that whatever God does is OK. Abuse of children is not OK for me. Though I still value my time in India, I feel I was duped by a narcissist.
Sai Baba’s predictions have not come true (there will be no Prema Sai, no Golden Age, no whole world coming to Parthi and even on a daily basis while alive, he lied about so many things – many instances of which I mentioned innocently in my letters), he abused young boys, and his ashram is a hub for dishonest and illegal activities. The list of deceit goes on and on. For many years I made excuses, called it his “leela” and clung to my idealistic faith. That was a reflection of my own goodness, not that of Sai Baba’s.
I put up my Letters to India, in part, to be fair to both sides – the current devotees and the ex-devotees. The devotees will see my extreme and sincere devotion and descriptions of darshans but at the same time, all the many unsavory aspects of life around Sai Baba – which have been picked up by others."

See some excerpts about Venkamma scanned here from Eileen's letters about Venkamma and her behaviour.

Venkamma much in
common with SB

Venkamma demanded silence of Divya

Venkamma a demanding tyrant

Venkamma a meat eater

Venkamma acted a guru role

Having read Eileen Weed's accounts of life with Parvatamma, Venkamma and the female side of Sai Baba's family on her Wattpad letters, one must conclude that life with them was far from being one of light, love and 'supreme peace' (Prashanthi), as one would have been led to expect by all the hype in the biographies and accounts put out under Sai Baba's supervision. That Divya was able to countenance this after having been brought up to believe in the highest ideals of Indian spirituality without losing faith in this family and its ruler (SB) is remarkable . To stay and contend with the many most unpleasant challenges and frequent very hard words that were thrown at her by Venkamma, to persist in serving her selflessly and putting up with diverse accusations by this demanding woman, can only be understood on the basis of the indoctrination that all SB followers have to adopt and extend to themselves if they wish to remain aspirants for salvation from all the ills of the world. It says a lot about the tolerant attitude of Eileen Weed, her determination to do good, strength of purpose and truthfulness. These qualities have no doubt been important in her being able to overcome the entire spiritual fraud involved and 'bounce back' without falling into depression or another guru's clutches.